Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [623]
When you return, you can change into your yukata (lightweight cotton Japanese robe or kimono) and be served dinner in your room or in a dining room. In a ryokan, dinner is often a multicourse feast of the finest local delicacies. In a minshuku, it will be simpler but still often very good. After dinner, you can take a bath. If it’s a big place, you can generally bathe anytime in the evening until around 11pm. If it’s a small place, you’ll be given a time slot. While you’re in the bath, some mysterious elves will go into your room and lay out your futon so that it will be waiting for you when you return all toasty from the bath.
In the morning, you’ll be served a Japanese-style breakfast (some places these days serve a simple Western-style breakfast for those who can’t stomach rice and fish in the morning). You pay on check out, which is usually around 11am.
* * *
Rider Houses
Catering mainly to touring motorcyclists, rider houses (raidā hausu) provide extremely basic shared accommodation from around ¥1000 per night. Some rider houses are attached to local rāmen (noodle) restaurants or other eateries, and may offer discounted rates if you agree to eat there. You should bring your own sleeping bag or ask to rent bedding from the owner. For bathing facilities, you will often be directed to the local sentō (public bath).
Rider houses are most common in Hokkaidō, but you’ll also find them in places like Kyūshū and Okinawa. If you can read some Japanese, spiral-bound Touring Mapple maps, published by Shobunsha and available in Japan, mark almost all of the rider houses in a specific region, as well as cheap places to eat along the way. Japanese readers will also find the Rider House Database (www.tabizanmai.net/rider/riderdate/k_db.cgi, in Japanese) useful.
Ryokan
Ryokan are traditional Japanese lodgings. They are often interesting wooden buildings with traditional tatami-mat rooms and futons for bedding. Ryokan range from ultra-exclusive establishments to reasonably priced places with a homey atmosphere. Prices start at around ¥4000 (per person per night) for a no-frills ryokan without meals and climb right up to ¥100,000 for the best establishments. For around ¥10,000 per person, you can usually find a very good place that will serve you two excellent Japanese meals to complement your stay.
See the websites of the International Tourism Center of Japan (formerly Welcome Inn Reservation Center; www.itcj.jp/) and the Japanese Inn Group (www.jpinn.com/index.html) for information about the ryokan booking services they offer. For information on staying in a ryokan, see the boxed text (above).
Shukubō
Staying in a shukubō (temple lodging) is one way to experience another facet of traditional Japan. Sometimes you are allocated a simple room in the temple precincts and left to your own devices. Other times you may be asked to participate in prayers, services or zazen (seated meditation). At some temples, exquisite vegetarian meals (shōjin-ryōri) are served.
Tokyo and Kyoto TICs produce leaflets on temple lodgings in their regions. Kōya-san Click here, a renowned religious centre in the Kansai region, includes more than 50 shukubō and is one of the best places in Japan to try this type of accommodation. The popular pilgrimage of Shikoku’s 88 sacred temples (Click here for more information) also provides the opportunity to sample shukubō.
Over 70 youth hostels are located in temples or shrines – look for the reverse swastika in the JYHA handbook. The suffixes